FORMOSA LILY SEED

I have a gradually filling out cluster of 9 pods at the top of this 8' first year lily stalk in my garden. The cluster of pods itself is beautiful. The pods MAY be faintly starting to yellow. We will have frost here in 3 weeks or less. Any advice on how to judge this seed mature, and how to store and grow the seed? Thanks for any help!

Peter

Peter, It seems best to allow the seed to mature on the plant - I would let the pods stay until the last day possible. One must be careful, because one morning you will walk out to the plant and the pods will have split down one of its veins and the seed will quickly dry and be blown about the garden. I put pods and all in small paper bags I bought for storing and drying seed and keep them inside, away from direct heat until spring. I put the seed in small plastic pots with a growing medium (I use nursery quality mix I buy at Lowe's) and transfer the small plants into the garden when they look strong enough. Formosan lilies are very tough plants. I have also cut one group of seed pods from a mature plant last month before they dried and I am going to see if they will grow for me that way. Formosan lilies are great in naturalized settings. Wish you well.

peony -

Thanks for sharing your experience. Do they do well stored in their zip-locks (dry of course) at room temp? And are there ajny signs of the "last moment" before they break open? Maybe it would be good to wrap and tie a bag around it, slit at the top to let out excess heat?

Peter, Unlike acorns and other things that require chilling hours which I put in ziplock bags and store in a refrigerator in the garage, I just put the Formosan Lily seeds, pods and all, in little brown bags and store at room temp. The lilly pods should continue to yellow and approach a light brown before opening while still on the plant, but I do check them daily. I haven't tried bagging them on the plant because we really have to watch the heat here in central Alabama, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. You still will have to cut the pods from the plant. The reason I put pods and all in a little paper bag is because I want them to be completely dry before I handle them. I will be interested how your seeds from a first year plant perform. In the past, I have cut the seed pods off the young plants after blooming, because I thought more energy might go into the plant rather than trying to produce seeds. I'm no expert, but I do enjoy propagating different plants. I have a mentor who has a MS in horticulture who usually steers me in the right direct. Good luck.
Ray

Thanks, Ray. I will post something here as the little project progreses. If I understand correctly, the ripe pods are in the yellow/tan condition: but if frost comes first, I am thinking that to pick and hope for the best would be a good strategy. You think? Also, Ray - I have a lot of shade. Most lilies flop without lots of sun, and this one, in mostly sun, needed tying. How do yu find they handle light shade?

I have some right at the edge of a shade garden. Although they lean, I never have to stake them. They do like sun, but I don't stake. I'm an old retired, lazy gardener who does not stake. I have a cluster with 16 seed pods on it, and I don't stake it. It doesn't dip so low that it loses its impressiveness. I plant most of my new seedlings on a 5 acre piece of ground outside town that I putz around on. They do well out there. I think you had a pretty productive lily that became top heavy. Again, I'm no expert in this stuff, but I let the plant mature a bit before I let the seed pods mature. Just a thought, do you see any coloration changes near the veins on the seed pods? My wife says I'm not very good on colors, but do you see any sort of purple/grape, whatever, starting to emanate from the veins outward? That seems to be part of the maturation process. Our temperatures are still in the mid 80's , so I generally don't have to worry about that early frost. I just watch the weather, and our local station usually tells us about the frost. By the way, our average first frost date is November 20, so I still have some time. The seed pods on my plants will probably be ready to toss in a bag. I would try to put the seeds away before the frost, but I usually don't have to worry about it. It's nice talking to you about a plant that most people don't use. Have a great day.

Ray -

We are a half zone behind you, with first frost maybe Nov. 6 or or 7, on average, so all should go normally. When I get home, I will check for that subtle coloration. Tell your wife I appreciate a person with an eye for color! Incidentally, lest I seem like a better gardener than I am, the lily I grew this year I bought as "blooming size" from the university greenhouses in Charlotte, grew out about 6 weeks inside, then planted!

Peter

Hi folks -

To update - I lucked out and discovered that the pods had opened right about at first frost, but had not spilled any seed! Cutting it off and shaking it in a bag, the stem produced a couple of thousand seed, I feel sure.

And I have to say, the stem and pods form one of the most beautiful plant candelabras, which is now in with some dried grasses in our hall!

Anyhow, now I have all this seed. I am going to start some today in a standard way, planted shallow in a soilless planting medium with lots of perlite, under lights, room temperature. Is there anything else I should know to get the best result?

Peter

Peter, I am that lazy, old guy who just throws them in moist potting soil, covers the seeds just lightly enough to keep them from blowing away, and waters lightly when the soil seems to be getting too dry. I do all of this outside. Your way will work even better. Unless you are much more meticulous than I am, you may think you have just planted grass (sod), because the small containers will be thick with growth. They do the same thing when you let the seedpods open and allow nature do its thing. It should be fun. I have 28 containers going now, and I will do a second seeding in mid-April. I've given 20+ quart and gallon containers away to fellow gardeners the past few weeks (these I grew last year). It's an interesting plant - to think that the multiple, mature size bulbs grow from tiny, filmlike seeds and produce such large flowers causes me to believe there's something out there much more powerful than I.:)

Ray - you lazy guy. It is delightful to read one of your letters again.

I hope my seed do as well as yours. So far, I haven't seen a sprout. I did plant meticulously. But perhaps they are covered too much.

Of course, I have thousands more seed, so i may have to try your method, and not miss the growing season! My original plant is now up about 6 inches, and appears to be three. That should be quite a show!

Peter

I am with peony- I am a lazy gardener.
I got seeds of formosa last year and just planted some in a container. They sprouted quickly and grew like crazy. IMO, lily seeds are sooo easy to grow and I am horrible at seed-starting. They stayed outside uncovered all winter and are now thick and lush. I recently planted them all in a bed. Can't wait to see how they do this summer.

Good luck with yours!

Ray and Berry - I see that Berry plants hersoutside. Do you do that, Ray, or sow in spring? Iam wondering about needing the cold to start . . . .

pd,
I planted my seeds last year in the late Spring/early summer. They sprouted of course and I just left them in the container they were in 'til I found a place for them. They didn't need cold to sprout.

I always allow some seedpods open a bit, and those seeds overwinter and grow where they fall. I have two different spots of them growing well now. I toss the vast majority of the seedpods in several lunch size paper bags, and in the spring when our temperatures start rising, I plant the seeds in small nursery containers outside where they do well. I have so many seeds I couldn't possibly count or use them all, so I just experiment. Once they sprout with above ground growth, they're good to go. Don't fret over them, just enjoy them. They're gifts.
By the way, as berrygirl says, in my experience, the seeds don't seem to need chilling hours. I don't put them in my refrigerator where I put all of my plant materials that do need chilling.
Ray